#11 VMI at #1 James Madison Gameday Central

LEXINGTON, Va. – Heading to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in program history after claiming its first Southern Conference title in 43 years, the VMI football team will take a short trip up I-81 to Harrisonburg to face #1-ranked and No. 3-seed James Madison Saturday at 2 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Links to the broadcast, radio and live stats are listed below in addition to other links that provide gameday information for both programs.

Broadcasts
Watch on ESPN3
Live Radio Broadcast on 96.7 3WZ
Live Stats

Attending the Game
Tickets | Weather | JMU Outdoor Spectator Policy | Directions
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#11 VMI (6-1, 6-1 SoCon)
Roster
Coaching Staff
Schedule/Results
Statistics
Game Notes
2020-21 Fact Book
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#1 James Madison (5-0, 3-0 CAA)
Roster
Schedule/Results
Coaching Staff
Statistics
Game Notes
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KEYDETS WIN SOCON, HEAD TO PLAYOFFS– Following a 31-17 win over The Citadel in the regular season finale last Saturday which delivered its first Southern Conference crown since 1977, VMI heads to its first-ever FCS playoff appearance against #1 ranked James Madison Saturday in Harrisonburg. The two Virginia schools are no strangers, separated by 55 miles on Interstate 81, and have met 13 times previously with the most recent meeting in 2009.

KEYDETS SWEEP SOCON WEEKLY AWARDS – VMI quarterback Seth Morgan and linebacker Stone Snyder have been named Southern Conference Football Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week awards presented by GEICO. In VMI's win over The Citadel Saturday, Morgan threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 29 yards. Snyder threatened the VMI single game record of 25 tackles and finished with a career-high 21 tackles in the Keydets' win over The Citadel. Morgan was later named Stats Perform FCS National Freshman of the Week.

MORE FCS RECOGNITION - After a remarkable 2020-21 regular season, VMI head football coach Scott Wachenheim and three Keydet football players have been named FCS national finalists for their respective awards as announced Monday by Stats Perform. Wachenheim was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), junior wide receiver Jakob Herres for the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), sophomore linebacker Stone Snyder for the Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year) and redshirt freshman Seth Morgan for the Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman of the Year).

VMI AT #11 IN BOTH POLLS – VMI enters Saturday's game with James Madison with a #11 ranking in both the AFCA FCS coaches Top 25 and Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. Prior to the season, VMI had never been ranked as an FCS member.

A VMI Win over James Madison would ...
---Be VMI's first FCS playoff win in program history
---Be the first victory over the Dukes since 1990

VMI RADIO NETWORK: WWZW – 96.7 FM (Lexington, Lynchburg). A free audio broadcast of the game is available at 3wzfm.com. Wade Branner will call the play-by-play and Rick Cruze will be color commentator.

TELEVISION/ VIDEO STREAMING: Saturday's game can be seen on ESPN3. A qualifying cable TV or satellite subscription is required to access the broadcast. Bill Roth will call play-by-play and Hutson Mason will provide color.

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting against James Madison will be the 14th overall in the series which began in 1982. JMU holds a 10-3 advantage and has taken all seven prior meetings between the teams in Harrisonburg. The Keydets' last win in the series came in 1990, 24-21, in Lexington.

KEYDETS VS #1 – Saturday's game at James Madison will be VMI's fifth against a top-ranked team in FCS. The last time VMI played a #1 ranked team was in 2009 when the Keydets fell, 38-28, at Richmond. VMI has never beaten a #1 ranked FCS squad in program history.

SHAKO STAYS – The Silver Shako will be residing on the VMI post for another year. The Keydets prevailed 31-17 Saturday in Lexington to keep the award presented to the winner of the VMI-The Citadel football series known as "The Military Classic of the South. It's the first time VMI had won back-to-back Silver Shakos since 1995 and 1996. It was also the first time the Keydets had defeated The Citadel in Lexington since 2000.

MORGAN TOPS IN COMPLETION PERCENTAGE – VMI redshirt freshman Seth Morgan, who has become VMI's starting quarterback since a season ending injury to Reece Udinski, currently leads FCS in completion percentage at 76%. Over the last three games as a starter, Morgan has completed 86 of 114 passes (.754) for 1018 yards and seven touchdowns.

HERRES CONTINUES HOT STREAK - With 11 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown last Saturday against The Citadel , junior wide receiver Jakob Herres produced his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game. Over that span, the Easton, Pa. native has 48 receptions for 597 yards and six touchdowns. Herres was named Stats Perform National and SoCon Offensive Player of the Week for his outstanding play in the March 27th 36-31 win over Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C. Herres caught a career-high 15 passes out of 18 targets for 207 yards and three touchdowns – all career bests – and hauled in the 14-yard game winning catch from quarterback Seth Morgan with :35 remaining in the contest. He also generated 30 yards after catch against the Terriers. It's the second time this year a Keydet has been named National Player of the Week as outside linebacker Connor Riddle earned the honor for his play against Furman February 27.

DYNAMIC DUO ON "D" – Following 20-tackle performances against The Citadel last Saturday, Keydet linebackers Stone Snyder and Connor Riddle top the VMI defensive tackles charts with 76 and 72 tackles respectively, but it's in negative yardage plays where they are both having a significant impact on VMI's defensive performance this year. The pair have accounted for 19.5 of VMI's total 47 TFL's this year and 13.0 of the units 24 sacks. Through seven games, Riddle has 10.0 TFL/5.0 sacks while Snyder has 9.5 TFL/8.0 sacks.

BRIDY BACK – The Keydet running game got a boost when junior Korey Bridy returned against The Citadel after a two-game absence because of injury. Bridy caught a 17-yard screen pass from Seth Morgan for VMI's first score against the Bulldogs Saturday. Before his injury, Bridy posted his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game with 109 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown against Samford March 20. One week after a career-high 91 yards against Western Carolina, Bridy topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career with 113 yards on 27 carries against Mercer March 13 as VMI netted 212 yards rushing against the Bears for its best rushing outing as a team since 220 yards against Mars Hill on September 7, 2019. Bridy currently leads the team in rushing with 320 yards and four touchdowns.

VMI SECURES WINNING SEASON – With the 36-31 come-from-behind win over Wofford March 27, VMI started 5-0 for the first time since 1960. The Keydets also secured their first winning season since 1981 ending a span of nearly four decades where the closest the Keydets could come to winning marks were a pair of consecutive 6-6 records in 2002 and 2003. VMI had also won six straight games dating back to the 2019 season finale which is the longest consecutive win streak for the program since 1959-60 when the Keydets reeled off 12 straight wins over two consecutive SoCon championship seasons.

ROAD WARRIORS – VMI finished its 2021 spring football season with a perfect 3-0 road mark in regular season games and went undefeated on the road for the first the first time since 1922 when the "Flying Squadron" under coach Blandy Clarkson went 3-0 in road tests. All three VMI football regular season road victories this year occurred where VMI had never won before and ended winless droughts at Western Carolina (13 games), Samford (three games) and Wofford (seven games).

MORGAN SPECTACULAR IN FIRST START – Taking over for SoCon Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Reece Udinski who is out for the season with injury, redshirt freshman Seth Morgan shined in his first college start by completing 25 of 34 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns in the 36-31 win over Wofford March 27. Morgan also rushed for 76 yards and finished with 451 yards total offense – the second-best single game in school history. The 375 yards passing ranked 10th best on the VMI all-time charts.

HERRES HEROIC - The 15 receptions by Jakob Herres against Wofford March 27 were the second most in a single game in program history behind only Aaron Sanders' 15 catches at Mercer in 2015. The 207 yards receiving stands as the sixth best mark on the VMI single game charts and he became only one of five players in school history to catch three touchdown passes in a game. Herres now has 20 career touchdown receptions which ties all-time leader Mark Stock (1984-88). Herres over the two-game stretch against Samford and Wofford caught a combined 29 passes for 373 yards and five touchdowns. He also moved over the 2,000 mark in career receiving yards and currently has 172 receptions good for third all-time at VMI and 2,335 career receiving yards which moved him past the great Ronnie Moore (1972-75) for third place on the VMI all-time list.

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